This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
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Plot Overview
After making unilateral,
bad business decisions with his and his wife's joint tour guide venture,
Jason Sellers (Chad Michael Collins) got a job to “pay the bills
and put a roof over our heads.” He left the little lady Zoe
(Poppy Delevingne) to pick up the pieces of the bankrupt business,
and he became a workaholic to the neglect of his helpmeet.
As a final bid to save their failing marriage, they're taking a Caribbean
vacation where they got their start.
Henry (Jeff Fahey) the skipper
of their hired yacht books them a table at a romantic hideaway
where by chance they encounter a beach bum Michael (Casper Van
Dien)—no last name—who fancies himself a “life
coach”—no details given—and who finds in Jason a
reminder of himself in his younger days. Our supposition
is he's an erstwhile workaholic whose marriage tanked
and his ex took him to the cleaners, so he's wandering incognito to
stay off her radar. He deports himself with a military bearing
and is handy with tough love on any man jack's rudeness he encounters.
His occupation was evidently as a martial arts instructor whose combat
courtesies he retains. But without the gentle influence of a
woman in his life, he has gone over to the dark side, and Jason and
Zoe soon find themselves on his bad side.
Captain Henry assures the couple the
boat trailing them belongs to local fisherman Dean Levin, “a
bit of a pain in the ass but harmless.” An earlier radio
announcement the arriving couple heard—Henry doesn't follow
the news—alerted listeners to the violent death of said Dean
Levin “a well known British fish supplier” and asked for
leads. The name just went over their heads at the time. There's an opening
scene, however, showing Michael (“He's a pro”) murdering
Dean (Spencer Collings) on the beach for being a royal pain. Now he's after
these two on a deserted island with no cell phone coverage.
Ideology
Zoe has her work cut out
for her instilling ordinary courtesies in her man. She instructs him
on how he should have treated the flight attendant, and she sets the
example how to treat their taxi driver. For all that, we can't expect
perfection. To Jason's sarcastic remark upon hearing the news on the
radio, that now they have to worry about getting murdered, she replies
under her breath, “Not if
I kill you first.” But that's just how people talk being
under stress. We all do it to a greater or lesser degree, so we need
to develop a certain thick skin rather than expect a perfect world,
especially at a vacation destination where people go who've gotten
stressed out. The biblical preacher advises us to, (Eccl. 7:21-22) “take no heed unto
all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself
likewise hast cursed others.” Michael, however, has
assigned himself the task of remedying, through violence if
necessary, each and every slight he encounters along the way, a massive
task per the skepticism of a Peter Marshall sermon:
I have come to the place where, watching the faces of passers-by, as I walk along the street, I wonder if anywhere in this country there is any real decency and honesty and purity walking around on two legs. (132)
Production Values
“Assailant” (2022) was written and directed by Tom Paton. It stars Poppy Delevingne, Chad Michael Collins and Casper Van Dien. Van Dien's performance excelled in a surprisingly different role than we're used to seeing him in. For their part the other actors were passable. The casting was Caribbean-diverse.
MPAA rated it R for violence and language. The story was clever and engaging with a thriller edge to it. Emotionally, it was British-reserved. Caribbean scenery was periodically panned. The plot was methodically developed. The opening scene introduced violence from the get-go. The background music was suitably ominous. I obtained my DVD from RedBox.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This movie needs to be appreciated on
its own terms, not by comparison with superficially similar others.
A once optimistic couple is at their wits end to fix themselves;
they don't even know where to start. On their make-it or break-it
holiday, they encounter three ad hoc, life coaches: Zoe's sister advises
her by phone that it takes time. The laid back captain advises them
that it takes effort. And a beach bum gives them an object lesson
in prioritizing conflicts, to pick one's battles, don't make them
all hills to die on. He shows them the psycho mentality of the latter;
to him all hills are to (literally) die on. This guy's a hoot and
a half! And while we want the couple to escape him, we don't want
them to escape the message. Other movies have done the thriller gig
before, but this one cleverly entwines it into a larger plot. I liked
it, but it might elude a superficial scrutiny.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Good Date Movie. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Marshall, Catherine. Sermons and prayers of Peter Marshall. Mr. Jones, Meet the Master. Copyright 1949, 1950 by Fleming H. Revell Company. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 37th printing. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org